The possible returns of Steven Smith and David Warner have also raised the Australia captain’s hopes

Daniel Brettig in Canberra04-Feb-2019Australia Test captain Tim Paine has revealed that he has been thinking about this year’s Ashes series for at least six months, and believes that the dominant 2-0 series win over a decidedly modest Sri Lanka side has helped the hosts crystallise a formula that can help them return to the pinnacle of world cricket.The two victories – by an innings in Brisbane and then by 366 runs in Canberra – were achieved against opponents who seemed completely unprepared for the challenge of Australian conditions in general and pace bowling in particular. Paine nonetheless was unequivocal in asserting that the unity central to those displays – bowlers hunting as a pack, batsmen building partnerships and, finally, centuries – provided the blueprint for success against stronger opponents on higher-profile days.ALSO READ: Starc clears his head and goes whang“Honestly, we were quite disappointed with the way we played against India,” Paine said. “I think the differences between the two series were that our ability to bowl as a group against India wasn’t quite there at times. Whether that’s because Virat (Kohli) and (Cheteshwar) Pujara were more patient than us and forced our bowlers out of their plans, but I thought we turned it around in this series with a real focus on bowling for each other and playing cricket as a team.”Obviously you need individual performances to win moments, but overall the stronger our team can be and the more that we play for each other – this series, or Sri Lanka and the way that we played in these last two Test matches – I think we can beat anyone in the world. The focus was on us playing as a team, so we’ve got to keep driving that home.”There will be no assignment of greater import than the Ashes in England later in 2019 where the Australians, bolstered by the possible returns of the banned Steven Smith and David Warner, will seek to become the first team clad in the baggy green to win the urn in the UK since 2001. Paine, who made his debut in England in 2010, albeit against Pakistan, admitted he had been thinking and dreaming of the series for quite some time, and also had a fair few names in mind for the likely 17-man squad.”About six months ago … I’ve been dreaming about it actually,” Paine said when asked when he would start thinking about the Ashes. “I’m happy now that we’ve got this out of the way, I can put everything into it because every Australian cricketer can’t wait to go and play an Ashes series and particularly in England.”It’s something that I’ve certainly dreamed of as a kid. I didn’t think I’d be going over as the captain, but in the back of my mind I’ve been thinking about it, I’ve been watching England, keeping a really close eye on them, I can’t wait to get over there.David Warner pulls as Steve Smith watches from the slips•Getty Images

“I’ve got a fair idea what it (the squad) might look like. But I’m not a selector, so I get asked my input. But I think they would have a pretty good picture of what it would look like. What we’ve seen over this summer is that we’ve now started to build a squad with plenty of depth. So there’s probably anywhere between 16 and 20 players now that we think are in the mix, a really good place to be.”First among these names will undoubtedly be paceman Pat Cummins, who reaped an eye-popping 14 wickets at 7.78 against Sri Lanka despite operating at first change behind Mitchell Starc and Jhye Richardson. “He’s got to be pretty close to it, isn’t he?” Paine said in response to whether Cummins was now among the world’s very best.”The difference with Pat and those guys is he doesn’t take the new ball. So he bowls at times when the ball’s not doing as much and the wicket’s a bit flatter. I think his ability to get it done in all conditions – whether it’s moving around or not – is second to none.”I felt as the summer went on he got better and better the more he bowled, it felt quicker and more accurate. He’d be the fastest Australian bowler to 90 wickets. That probably says he’s right up there.”Two other names clearly in Paine’s squad are Smith and Warner, who he identified as critical parts of an Ashes-winning team. The end of the Sri Lanka series marked the end of a stretch of nine Test matches that the former captain and vice-captain have missed through suspension, and there can be little doubt as to how warmly they will be received when they return to the fold.”I think everyone has to a degree got to earn their stripes, I think those two have plenty of runs in the bank,” Paine said. “I see us going to the Ashes and them having a huge part in us winning the series. That’s how I see how important they are to this team. We know how good they are. Hopefully once their bans are up they’ll be welcomed back and they’ll win Test matches like they did before.”

BCCI says Pandya suffering from ‘lower back stiffness’, to have rehab work at Bengaluru’s National Cricket Academy

Nagraj Gollapudi21-Feb-2019With less than 100 days for the World Cup, India’s preparation for the tournament suffered a blow with their main allrounder Hardik Pandya ruled out of entire home series against Australia starting this Sunday.Pandya, the BCCI said, was suffering from “lower back stiffness” and so its medical team has decided to send him to the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru next week to undergo strength and conditioning work.Ravindra Jadeja, originally left out from the ODI squad, has been named as replacement for the five-match series, which follows the two T20Is in Visakhapatnam and Bengaluru.Pandya had only recently recovered from a stress fracture of the back. In September 2018, he had to be stretchered off the field while playing an Asia Cup match against Pakistan with the BCCI saying he was suffering from “acute back spasms”. The problem was serious enough that he missed the entire home series against West Indies in October-November and then the first two Tests of the Australia tour as well.Pandya regained full fitness in December and, having proven he can get through the workload of an allrounder in a first-class match for Baroda, joined the Indian team in Melbourne but did not play any part in the subsequent matches of the Boder-Gavaskar Trophy.On the eve of his return, during the ODI series in Australia, he landed in controversy triggered by his comments on a talk show on Indian television. It was shot late last year but aired in early January. In the wake of widespread backlash, the Committee of Administrators (CoA), which runs the BCCI, suspendedboth Pandya and KL Rahul, who appeared alongside him on the same show.Eventually, the CoA lifted the suspensions on both players on the condition that a final decision will be taken once the BCCI’s ombudsman took charge. Justice DK Jain, a retired Supreme Court Judge, did so on Thursday. Pandya rejoined the Indian team during the New Zealand series, playing in six matches, picking up seven wickets and scoring 86 runs.He showed no signs of strain during those performances, which makes the recurrence of this back injury a particular problem for India. Also keeping a close eye on his recovery would be the Mumbai Indians, for whom Pandya has been an important pillar. The IPL starts on March 23.Pandya’s absence would shift the focus on Tamil Nadu allrounder Vijay Shankar who has impressed both the team management and selectors during the New Zealand series. Vijay is being seen as a batting allrounder and is part of the pool of players shortlisted for the World Cup.

The culture of togetherness within the squad was the main reason for the upturn in fortunes, Sri Lanka’s captain has said

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2019Sri Lanka have made history in South Africa, becoming only the third team overall – after England and Australia – and the first from Asia to breach the fortress in a Test series.It came against all calculations. After all, Sri Lanka have had very few reasons to cheer on the cricket field – or off it, for that matter – in recent months. Not to forget they had a new captain in the form of Dimuth Karunaratne for the series, with Dinesh Chandimal getting the axe after two huge defeats in Australia. The sword was hanging over coach Chandika Hathurusingha’s head too, and more than one key player picked up injuries and dropped out.”Beating South Africa two-nil isn’t easy. When we came here, we were underdogs. But we learnt a lot of things on previous tours, and the players executed really well in these conditions. That’s why we are here. It’s a great achievement for us,” Karunaratne gushed after Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando struck unbeaten half-centuries to take Sri Lanka to an eight-wicket win in Port Elizabeth for a series sweep.Just how big was the result? Karunaratne admitted that even when, at various stages, there were words of positivity and hope thrown about in the dressing room, “we didn’t take that seriously”.”I think we never expected to do it,” he said. “But when we started winning, we had the faith. We wanted to compete. Winning is the ultimate goal, but if we do the right things, the result will definitely be good for us. Most of the guys said that but we didn’t take that seriously, because when we have additional pressure, it’s not easy.”Cut to Saturday, which started with Sri Lanka 60 for 2 in their chase of 197, and “we said when you go out there, you play your natural game; if you can score, if you can hit over the fielder, go for it. That’s what in the first hour Mendis and Oshada did … when we played like that, South Africa were on the back foot.”Kasun Rajitha is pumped up•Getty Images

Karunaratne stressed on “keep smiling” and “keep enjoying” as the main mantras for the players. After over two months on the road – with very little joy – the words proved useful.”The tour (in New Zealand) started in December, so we are out of the country for three months. If you don’t enjoy and if you can’t free your mind, you can’t give your best,” Karunaratne said. “I know the talent we have, so we wanted to get those out. If you’re enjoying yourself, you can definitely get those out.”With Mendis, who hasn’t had his best run with the bat while on the road, the new captain had to work extra hard. “He was really feeling the pressure, he was thinking about the social media and everything,” Karunaratne said. “But I said, ‘When you get a good knock, you’ll forget about it and we’ll keep supporting you. It’s high time you do it.’ And he did it for me.”Mendis and Oshada pulled it off in the end, but Sri Lanka had many other heroes in Port Elizabeth after Kusal Perera had done it all almost single-handedly in the first Test in Durban.South Africa only scored 222 and 128, and that was because the pace trio of Suranga Lakmal, Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha picked up 13 wickets between them and Dhananjaya de Silva, the lone spinner after Lasith Embuldeniya dislocated his left thumb, provided crucial breakthroughs in conditions not too suited to his brand of offspin.And no, comments from South Africans like Keshav Maharaj didn’t serve to spur the players on, according to the new captain, who now looks set to hold the job at least for the foreseeable future.”We had a few discussions, what I expect, what the management expects, and after that, we kept hanging together, we ate dinner together, we were together,” he said of the team culture he has tried to put in place. “When you make that culture, when you come overseas, only the squad will stay here … I wanted them to give their best and stay in the game all the time. They enjoyed a lot, still they are enjoying. It’s really a great feeling, when we are playing together, and my job becomes easier.”When we came here, no one thought we can win a series here. But if we back ourselves, we can win those matches. We wanted to do something good for the team, for the Sri Lankan fans. End of the day, we did a really good job.”

Price’s first challenge will be to try and take USA to the T20 World Cup qualifiers in Scotland in August

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Mar-2019Former Australia international Julia Price has been appointed the head coach of the USA women’s team. Price was part of the Australia women’s World Cup-winning team in 1997 and 2005. The appointment follows a process that ended with interviews of three candidates, with Price emerging the winner.USA are looking to qualify for the women’s T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia next year, and Price’s first task will be to identify a squad of 14 players – the selection process will take place on March 23 and 24 in California.Her first assignment will be a three-match Americas qualifying tournament against Canada in May, with the winners progressing to the eight-team T20 World Cup qualifier to be held in Scotland in August.”I’m absolutely thrilled to have been appointed as head coach for the USA Cricket women’s national team,” Price was quoted as saying in a press release. “I believe that the potential for growth of cricket in America, particularly in the women’s game, is quite phenomenal. We have a huge year coming up so I can’t wait to get going with the squad and hit the ground running from this weekend.”Price was until last month the head coach of WBBL franchise Hobart Hurricanes. In the past, apart from coaching the Australia women’s team, she has served as a consultant with USA Cricket Combines, a partnership between USA Cricket and Cricket Australia.

Dislocated shoulder could end Billings’ hopes of playing a role in England World Cup campaign

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Apr-2019Ben Foakes is set to make his England white-ball debut in Dublin next week, after being called up for the one-off Ireland ODI as a replacement for Sam Billings, who suffered a dislocated left shoulder while fielding for Kent against Glamorgan on Thursday.Foakes, whose 71 from 80 balls for Surrey against Middlesex on Thursday was his third half-century in consecutive Royal London Cup games, is also set to keep wicket in the T20I against Pakistan in Cardiff on May 5, in the absence of England’s first-choice keepers, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow, who are being rested after their stints in the IPL.His inclusion comes after a cruelly timed injury for Billings, one that has ruled him out for much of the season and ended his own chances of playing a part in England’s World Cup campaign.Although Billings had not been named in England’s provisional 15-man squad for the World Cup, which gets underway in just over a month’s time, he had seemingly put himself at the head of the queue of batting reserves, should anything befall the men ahead of him in the pecking order between now and the climax of the tournament on July 14.ALSO READ: Back spasms and personal issues: England World Cup watchInstead, having played just once for Chennai Super Kings in this year’s IPL (and scored a duck in that solitary outing), Billings’ start to the English season lasted just a matter of minutes.Fielding at mid-off in Harry Podmore’s opening over in Cardiff, he dived to intercept a drive from Glamorgan’s Australia allrounder, Marnus Labuschagne, and landed awkwardly on his left shoulder.In obvious pain, Billings was left prone on the outfield for several minutes, and treated with oxygen before being helped from the field.He was taken to hospital, where the shoulder was relocated, and underwent scans after seeing a specialist on Friday. Billings was under no illusions about the extent of his injury when he returned to Sophia Gardens after the incident.”Without a doubt, it’s the most painful thing I’ve experienced,” he told BBC Radio Kent. “An hour and 20 minutes with your shoulder not back in its right place isn’t a great time for anyone.”Opportunity knocks, however, for Foakes, who was Man of the Series on his maiden Test tour of Sri Lanka last year after being called up – again as an injury replacement – after Bairstow turned his ankle playing football.Speaking ahead of the announcement, Surrey’s coach, Michael di Venuto, admitted that Foakes’ calm, accumulative approach meant that he didn’t stand out in the way of some of his rivals in white-ball cricket, but said that his one-day county performances over the past three years would fully merit an England call-up.”I think he averaged 91 here [at the Kia Oval], he averaged 60 last year, he’s doing the same this year,” said di Venuto. “In white-ball cricket he’s probably one of the form players in the country, it’s just unfortunate that England are blessed with batsman-wicketkeepers who do it more explosively than he does.”Billings’ injury is one of a number of concerns for England, particularly among their batsmen, as they build towards the World Cup opener against South Africa at The Oval on May 30.Jason Roy has missed Surrey’s last two London Cup games, after suffering a back spasm earlier this week, while Eoin Morgan sat out Middlesex’s match at The Oval after complaining of sore shins.Kent’s other England selection, Joe Denly, was not included for the trip to Glamorgan after himself suffering a back spasm while batting against Gloucestershire on Tuesday.Alex Hales, meanwhile, has been put on indefinite leave by Nottinghamshire for personal reasons, but is expected to link up with the England squad for a pre-season training camp in Cardiff this weekend.

Uganda scored a record 314 for 2, thanks to centuries from Musamali and Alako, as Mali set another dubious record

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Jun-2019Mali women’s miserable run in the Kwibuka Women’s Twenty20 Tournament 2019 continued for a third straight day, as they sank to a record 304-run defeat against Uganda women on Thursday.Mali had already set a world record for the lowest ever total on Tuesday, having been bowled out for 6 against Rwanda.Their 10 all out came after Uganda had racked up a massive 314 for 2 after choosing to bat first – the highest total in all T20Is – men or women.Opener Prosscovia Alako and captain Rita Musamali both hit centuries for Uganda, the first time two centuries had been hit in the same innings of a women’s T20I. Alako made 116 off 71, and was run out off the penultimate delivery of the innings. Musamali stayed not out on 103 off 61, having shared a 227-run stand with Alako for the second wicket off 14.1 overs.Oumou Sow bowled three overs, conceding 82 runs. Mali’s only wicket taker was Aicha Kone, who bowled Immaculate Nakisuuyi in the 6th over, by when Uganda had already reached 82. Tenin Konate gave away only 32 runs in her four overs, the only bowler with an economy rate under 10. Mali bowled 61 extras, with 30 no-balls and 28 wides.No Mali batsman made more than 4, with six falling for ducks. Their innings was wrapped up in 11.1 overs, with Mildred Anyigo’s 3 for 1 being the best figures. With a double round-robin league format, Mali will have to play each of Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda over the next three days.List of records broken in the match:

• Highest total in women’s T20Is, beating England women’s 250 for 3 against South Africa women exactly a year ago.
• The 227-run stand between Musamali and Alako is the highest for any wicket in women’s T20Is. The previous best was 182 put on by Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine against South Africa women , exactly a year ago. [South Africa women played two T20Is on the same day in Taunton on June 20, 2018]
• The margin of victory (304 runs) is the highest ever by a distance. The previous best in women’s T20Is was when UAE women beat China women by 189 runs in January.
• Mali have the three lowest totals in women’s T20Is, having incredibly achieved those on three consecutive days.
• The 61 extras Mali gave up are the third most in women’s T20Is.
• The 82 runs Oumou Sow conceded are the most ever for Women’s T20Is. The most ever conceded in men’s cricket is 81 (in four overs) by Sarmad Anwar in a domestic match in Pakistan.

Opening batsman says New Zealand were “right in the box seat” until his throw deflected for four off Ben Stokes’ bat

Andrew Miller18-Jul-2019New Zealand’s crushing disappointment after the World Cup final against England on Sunday was mitigated by the knowledge that they had played a huge part in one of the most thrilling cricket matches of all time, according to Martin Guptill, the opening batsman whose ill-fortune came to epitomise his side’s cruel luck.Not only was Guptill the man left sprawling for his crease in the Super Over, as Jos Buttler fielded the shy from midwicket that sealed the final in England’s favour, he was also the man whose own throw from the deep – in England’s final over of the original run-chase – inadvertently turned the course of the match on its head.After gathering Ben Stokes’ clip to midwicket with nine runs needed from three balls, Guptill’s return to the keeper deflected off Stokes’ bat and away to the third man boundary for four overthrows, making a total of six runs for the incident. Stokes had already smashed the third ball of the over for another six, and managed to eke out two more singles from the final two balls of Trent Boult’s over to tie the scores.”Up until the third ball we were right in the box seat,” Guptill told Sky Sports ahead of his debut for Worcestershire Rapids in the Vitality Blast. “And then it wasn’t to be, but that’s just the way cricket goes, as players. It was one hell of a final.”Guptill admitted that “the thought crosses your mind” that New Zealand were simply fated to miss out, but he had no doubt about the moment that changed the game.”I guess it was the throw that I threw in from the boundary and hit the back of Stokes’ bat, and trickled off for four,” he said. “You know when that sort of thing happens, from a throw from the boundary, it tends not to go your way.”Chasing 16 runs to win the Super Over, Guptill was left needing two from the final ball of the match, but this time Jason Roy’s shy from midwicket was accurate enough to leave him well short as Buttler confirmed England’s first World Cup in 44 barren years.”I didn’t really know where the ball was, I just put the head down and just started running,” Guptill said. “It was a good throw and I dived from about halfway, and just come up a little bit short.”New Zealand received huge credit for the manner in which they accepted their defeat, in spite of having scored the same number of runs across the match, and Guptill said that the team had been quick to recognise quite what a massive part of sporting history they had played a part in.”Yeah, I think so,” he said. “You know, the support that we had from back home and even around here, and what you see on social media, everyone just loved the game, whether they were cricket watchers or not. Everyone was all over the game and they loved it and it was just a shame for us about the result.”We actually had quite a good party,” he added. “I mean, obviously it was quite a sombre mood for a while but then we realised we were part of one of the greatest games in cricket history, so we got over it fairly quickly. We had a good time together, because we’re not going to be together as a group like that for a while yet.”Guptill’s World Cup had been a luckless affair for much of the campaign. Despite making a half-century to seal a ten-wicket win over Sri Lanka in New Zealand’s opening match, he didn’t pass 35 in his remaining 10 innings.But a change of scene could be just the tonic, as he links up with Worcestershire, the defending T20 Blast champions.”You need a bit of luck in the game as a batsman sometimes,” he said. “And T20 can be the place to find that luck. So who knows, hopefully tonight I can find a little bit and hopefully score a few runs.”It’s a young team and I think there’s a lot of excitement around it,” he added of his Worcestershire team-mates. “The guys just have fun playing together. I think that’s a big part of cricket and something that we pride ourselves on as New Zealanders and the Black Caps. We just go out and have some fun with our mates.”

Allrounder smacks 51 and then returns 5-29 to help Bangladesh script a 62-run win and get in the top half of the points table

The Report by Saurabh Somani24-Jun-2019As it happenedShakib Al Hasan came, spun, and conquered, carrying Bangladesh to a comfortable 62-run win over Afghanistan that kept their semi-final aspirations alive at the 2019 World Cup.Shakib made it to the record books on the way, most significantly becoming only the third player – after Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh – to have a century and a five-wicket haul in the same edition of the World Cup, and the second, after Yuvraj, to score a 50-plus score and return a five-for in the same World Cup game. He first extended his good batting form to hit a fifth 50-plus score in six innings in the tournament, and then broke the back of Afghanistan’s chase with 5 for 29 in ten overs – Bangladesh’s best World Cup figures.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of Bangladesh’s 62-run win over AfghanistanBangladesh now have seven points with two games in hand. Those two games are against India and Pakistan, but the manner in which Bangladesh have been playing, they will have the belief that they can continue to upset pre-tournament predictions.Against Afghanistan, form-wise, Bangladesh were heavily favoured to win. But they have had a prickly history with Afghanistan and the head-to-head record is a lot closer than they would want. They did look tentative in the initial exchanges, but on pitch that gripped, and a ground with long boundaries, that wasn’t catastrophic.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights from Mushfiqur Rahim’s 87-ball 83Gulbadin Naib made the surprising decision to bowl first on winning the toss, a move that made Mashrafe Mortaza happy because he wanted to bat first in any case.Afghanistan’s game plan while bowling revolved around their spinners – making the decision to bat first seem more inexplicable – and Bangladesh prepared their tactics accordingly. They broke up the successful opening combine of Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar, sending Liton Das at the top instead of Soumya to counter Mujeeb Ur Rahman. The move didn’t work, with Mujeeb accounting for Liton with a carrom ball. He would later get Soumya, who came in at No. 5, too.In the middle, he struck another crucial blow by trapping Shakib lbw, which allowed Afghanistan some measure of control in the middle overs. Mujeeb’s 3 for 39 was just rewards for his excellent show. He had bowled the tough overs and kept Bangladesh’s batsmen quiet. Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan too had good outings, with Nabi taking out Tamim.Shakib Al Hasan entered the record books on his way to a match-winning performance•Getty Images

But Mushfiqur Rahim stayed put, moving the score along. Bangladesh had a phase of more than 12 overs – from 24.1 to 36.1 inclusive – without a boundary, but Mushfiqur didn’t lose patience in that phase and opened out after that. He had a shot at emulating countrymen Shakib and Mahmudullah in hitting back-to-back World Cup tons, but fell for an 87-ball 83 in the penultimate over.However, Bangladesh did get the finishing kick courtesy Mossadek Hossain’s 35 off 24, and once they had put on in excess of 250, it was always going to be an uphill battle for Afghanistan, who didn’t help themselves with a sloppy display in the field – ESPNcricinfo’s data had them saving three runs and conceding 19.The chase needed one top-order batsman to play a big innings, batting throughout, but Gulbadin’s 47 was the only substantial score in the top five. The openers built a steady platform, but they needed more than steady. Bangladesh gave the new ball to their pacers, Mortaza and Mustafizur Rahman, and Afghanistan’s best bet was to get off to a fast start against the hard new ball with the sun out, and later milk the spinners. But with Mashrafe and Mustafizur keeping things relatively tight, Afghanistan weren’t quite where they had hoped to be after the first Powerplay.Enter Shakib. And mayhem. He got Rahmat Shah in his first over, and then returned to prise the heart out of Afghanistan’s chase with the wickets of Gulbadin and Nabi within three balls.Adding to Afghanistan’s strange decision-making was another odd move: sending Najibullah Zadran at No. 8, behind wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil. Najibullah showed the folly of that move with pleasing strokeplay, but he had walked in against an asking rate that was improbable, against a spinner on top of his game.Shakib duly got his five-for when Najibullah wandered too far down and was stumped, and any faint hope Afghanistan might have had vanished, even though Samiullah Shinwari, playing his first game of the competition, did push them along with a stroke-filled 49 not out.When Kapil, in 1983, and Yuvraj, in 2011, hit a century and took a five-wicket haul in the same World Cup, their teams lifted the trophy. That final result is still a long way off for this edition, but Shakib’s wizardry has meant that the boulder souls in Bangladesh will dare to hope of a repeat.

Ibrahim Zadran and Qais Ahmad the new names in the long-format squad, while the T20I set-up also includes some fresh faces

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2019Rashid Khan will have several familiar players around him as he begins his stint as Afghanistan’s all-format captain, but the Test and T20I squads he has been given for the tour of Bangladesh also include a number of new names.

Afghanistan squads

Test: Rashid Khan (capt), Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ihsanullah, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Zahir Khan, Javed Ahmadi, Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Afsar Zazai (wk), Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmad
T20I: Rashid Khan (capt), Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Najeeb Tarakai, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Shahidullah, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad, Shafiqullah, Fazal Niazai, Dawlat Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)

The September tour will begin with a one-off Test match, Afghanistan’s third ever, in Chattogram.Apart from Mohammad Shahzad, who is serving a suspension, middle-order batsman Nasir Jamal, left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf, paceman Wafadar Momand, and left-arm wristspinner Waqar Salamkheil have all been left out of the squad that beat Ireland in the one-off Test in Dehradun in March.The experienced left-arm paceman Shapoor Zadran, who has never played Test cricket but did take part in the ODIs against Ireland, as well as Afsar Zazai, the wicketkeeper-batsman who played Afghanistan’s maiden Test – against India in June 2018 in Bengaluru – have both been included. The others to make the cut were left-arm wristspinner Zahir Khan, medium pacer Ahmad Shirzad and two players who have never represented Afghanistan, opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran and legspinner Qais Ahmad.The squad of 15 includes veterans Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan, the captain in Afghanistan’s first two Test matches, with other experienced players like Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi in the mix too.The Test will be played from September 5-9, and will be followed by a triangular T20I series, also involving Zimbabwe, scheduled from September 13-24. Apart from the regulars, that side also has the uncapped trio of left-hand batsman Shahidullah, medium pace-bowling allrounder Fazal Niazai, and wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.”We have selected a 17-member squad for the T20I matches as per the advice of the captain as we have two important tournaments – T20I Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup 2020 – ahead of us,” chief selector Andy Moles said. “We will seek to prepare good sides for these tournaments and those players who perform well, will be considered for selection.”We will also consider the performance of players in the upcoming Shpageeza Cricket League and Afghanistan Premier League T20 for future selection.”The Test squad will leave for Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, where the players will train from September 22 to 29 before travelling to Bangladesh.

Harris scores unbeaten 52 in front of selectors but Smith waits in wings after bowling one over in comeback match

Daniel Brettig29-Aug-2019Not even present for the tour game at Worcester, Australia’s coach Justin Langer underlined the impending pointy end of this Ashes series by intently watching day one of the encounter with Derbyshire from behind the wicket, accompanying the selection chairman Trevor Hohns for long segments of play at the county ground in Derby.What they saw, joined at various junctures by the captain Tim Paine, the resting David Warner and the former New Zealand coach John Wright, was more or less as might have been expected, save for the curious initial decision to field rather than bat first on a straw-coloured pitch.Michael Neser claimed two wickets in as many deliveries with the brand new ball and later added a third, Mitchell Starc went wicketless for 12 overs before blasting out three Derbyshire batsmen in his 13th, two by splaying the stumps, and Peter Siddle bowled eight overs for 11 runs while accounting for the hosts’ top scorer, the elegant Leus de Plooy.Wrapping up Derbyshire’s innings shortly after tea, the acting captain Usman Khawaja and the opener Marcus Harris then got comfortable against modest bowling, taking their time in the knowledge that only one of them is likely to play in the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Khawaja, as the senior player of the two, appears more certain of retaining his place, and one or two of Harris’ signature airy cut shots through a gully area not overly staffed by Derbyshire did not inspire a great deal of confidence.Nonetheless, he scored more freely of the batsmen, and in staying undefeated to the close, Harris and Khawaja ensured that Steven Smith’s return to the middle following his concussion substitution at Lord’s and subsequent absence from Headingley would be delayed by another day.”He’s always looking to score,” Paine said of Harris. “I think if you bowl a bad ball to Harry he puts it away and I think that puts guys under pressure. He’s just an attacking opening batter and he keeps the scoreboard moving, but as he’s shown in Shield cricket he’s got the ability to bat for a long time and score big hundreds when he gets in, we know that Harry’s got Test runs in him, and when he gets set hopefully he starts well tomorrow, gets a big score and he can continue putting runs on the board like he has for the last 18 months.”Steve Smith is going to come back in and play. So obviously someone from the last Test is going to miss out. There’s no doubt about that. You have the best player in the world coming back into your line-up. I suppose this tour game is important for guys to make sure that you’re keeping your name up in front of the selectors. And so far a few guys have done it, which is very pleasing. That’s what we want. We want to have depth and we want our selectors to have to make difficult decisions.”Steven Smith had an over before lunch on his return to action•Getty Images

In fact Smith’s only involvement was a single over of ropey off-spin, including one practice delivery that sailed over the head of a startled Siddle at mid off. Neser, Starc and Siddle all bowled better than that, demonstrating what the selectors could expect should they choose any for Manchester. Paine said that Starc’s bowling was steadily on the improve in terms of what the team needed him to do in English conditions.”I think if anyone’s stops trying to get better, that’s a problem,” Paine said. “We know what Starcy can do in terms of blowing teams away. We also know that coming to England in the past that hasn’t worked. So he’s been working really hard on getting his length right more so than anything. I think his opening spell today was really good. I thought he bowled in very good areas.”He bowled with good pace on a wicket that was very slow. So I thought the signs that he showed with the new ball were really good. And then, like we saw again at the end, when he can go back to what his strengths are, attack the stumps and use his short-balls, he’s a handful for the tail as well.”He’s been working on his length and I think he showed some really good control in his first spell. He bowled a long spell too [seven overs and eight overs] which he doesn’t do a lot when he plays for Australia. I thought he controlled pretty well and, the areas he has been trying to improve so he can be important for us in English conditions, I thought he showed today he’s going really well with that.”Rather less of a chance to figure in Lancashire is Cameron Bancroft, who must have been informed of a fairly lowly posting in the batting order after heading, at change of innings, for an extended practice session in the Derby nets. Langer, meanwhile, kept both eyes firmly on the middle.